In warm blood
by Torashii
Summary: Tsuna developed a warped personality from the constant bullying he's faced. One day he snapped and ended up killing his tormentor. He quickly gains an unquenchable bloodlust, and goes on to become a well known assassin. AU
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I've been wanting to write for this fandom for a while '^'

Warnings: Rude language - some may offend, violence, kinda OOC sarcastic Tsuna.

This deviates from canon where Frederico didn't die and so Tsuna continued undisturbed by Reborn/Vongola. He also isn't entirely useless like in canon.

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><p>Honestly, Tsuna had expected getting away with murder to be a lot harder. It wasn't like he <em>wanted<em> to get caught, but he'd figured there'd be a lot more trouble than carving the local gang crest into the body of his victim and leaving amongst the rubbish piled in the alleys of the shadier part of town. Bodies like this showed up every couple of months as a result of the warring gangs in the area – or so most people assumed. The gangs didn't often threaten the lives of civilians; in fact some commended them for getting rid of some of the trash that roamed the streets at night, and so very little effort was made into dealing with deaths like these. With this reasoning, Tsuna admitted he'd done a fair job of covering up his little accident with Takada, as fair as he could for a first time murderer. The twelve (going on thirteen) year old sighed and hoped at least the next one would prove a little more of a challenge.

Wait a minute. '_The next one?' _Tsuna decided to halt his thought process so he could fully understand the implications of his actions. Not a day before he'd been an ordinary twelve (going on thirteen) year old, and now he was looking forwards to his next murder. It was surprising how very normal events had somehow led to this outcome.

XXXXX _flashback_

Tsuna winced as he cleaned the last of his scrapes and covered it with a small and unassuming flesh-coloured plaster. His last set of cuts and bruises had barely faded before his bullies had kindly provided him with more. Tsuna was starting to consider charging them for the never-ending need to buy more plasters. Sure he was fairly small, soft-spoken and decidedly feminine in appearance. And he might have blushed _that one time_ when he got close to a shirtless Yamamoto in the changing rooms one Monday afternoon, but _still_ – he didn't deserve the constant harassment of his peers. Not that people had ever needed a reason to bully him, it had been a problem he'd faced since entering nursery. Often he wondered if he created some sort of magnetism that attracted negative attention and trouble, but most times he'd dismiss it as being surrounded by a bunch of idiots.

Shaking his head, Tsuna put away his small medical kit and stretched his muscles. It was still early yet, so he decided to cook himself a proper breakfast before school. Nana, his mother, was away on a two day, three night trip to the hot springs she'd won in town the other week. Although she had protested leaving him by himself, Tsuna had insisted she go. Lord knows she needed a break from raising him single handedly. Turning on the stove, Tsuna let his mind wander to the other person who was supposed to be raising him alongside his mother. Sawada Iemitsu: oil worker (abroad) and bastard who hadn't bothered visiting for at least four years. As he cut various vegetables to put into his omelette, Tsuna decided Iemitsu was an arsehole like the rest of the people who had abused him over the years. He was sure neglect counted as a form of abuse, not that Tsuna actually needed the man the pay attention to him.

Speaking of the undesirable people in his life, Tsuna thought back to the bullies he was constantly facing. You would think after years of being beaten, he would develop his fighting skills. While Tsuna now possessed extraordinary fleeing skills instead, it couldn't be said he didn't fight back. It was simple reality that a twelve year old could only do so much against a gang of at least five upperclassmen. Individually he was confident enough to take them on, but five at once often left him overwhelmed and overpowered. Not to mention there was a new one, that guy Takada. Tsuna decided within minutes of meeting the sumo club member (while giving him a polite greeting and a smile of course), that he looked like a boiled egg gone wrong. It astounded him how someone could shave his (egg shaped) head and flaunt his excessive body mass for a sport that involved tackling another, equally chubby and sweaty boy with pride. Let it be said that as these thoughts ran rampant through Tsuna's head while politely greeting the other boy that his personality had somewhat been warped by the years of excessive bullying.

Takada had cornered Tsuna after P.E. and had arrogantly proclaimed Tsuna a 'homo faggot' and scum for being so. Tsuna had rolled his eyes and assured Takada that there was no need to fear, since he wasn't into sweaty sumo boys who looked like deformed eggs, and promptly earned himself a punch to the gut. Tsuna thought the entire confrontation was ridiculous. He was bisexual at the very least. Either way, Tsuna had gained a new acquaintance, and he was eager to break off their relations as soon as possible. He had enough people on his arse (figuratively of course) and he wasn't keen on taking on more. With a sudden curiosity, Tsuna eyed the small knife he had used to cook with. It was sleek – entirely metal from tip to hilt – and wonderfully sharp. It would easily fit in one of his pockets and go unnoticed. In a moment Tsuna had wrapped it up protectively in some cloth he found laying around and shoved it in one of his many pockets, before making his way outside and onto his school. It would purely be for scare tactics of course; people often left you alone if they thought you were crazy enough carry around a knife. '_Not to mention how Takada would probably shit himself straight out of fear'. _Tsuna thought the idea would be vastly amusing. Evidently his personality was warped more than originally thought.

As predicted, Takada had cornered him at the school gates once all lessons were over. Surprisingly, though it should have been expected, he could see the five older classmen he usually had to endure before exit the school building. There were no other students around – seeing as he had to leave later for failing to produce homework for any of his teachers – and being caught between several of his tormentors was not an ideal situation. Before the five at the gates registered that their target had shown up, Tsuna ran in a dead sprint, passing the shocked teenagers and started gearing towards the older part of the town where streets were narrower and harder to navigate. He was vaguely aware that Takada had sprinted after him almost immediately and so he'd hoped Takada would be easily lost in the winding streets of the older section of Nanimori. As fate (if such a thing existed) would have it, Takada was familiar with the increasingly shady part of town, and soon he had run Tsuna into a dank alley, cluttered with several rubbish bins, before cornering the skinnier boy.

"It's remarkable how someone of your stature managed to chase me here, Takada-_san_." Tsuna smirked at the panting boy who still had managed to block his route of escape, apparently unfazed by the turn of events.

"Shut it you little faggot shit." Takada was still panting heavily, yet he had the strength to knock the wind out of Tsuna with his beefy fist.

Tsuna, who was slumped against the wall at this point, merely huffed indignantly in reply. '_Honestly, can't they think of new insults?' _Takada leered down at the boy before turning away as if to make his subsequent speech more dramatic. The egg shaped boy stood up straight, pacing in a line as if he were on a stage, or some army superior, about to give the new recruits a lashing.

"Honestly, having people like you at my school makes me sick. It's bad enough you ogle other dudes; you have to go around with that pretty face of yours like some slut, trying to attract more boys. It's sickening."

Tsuna ground his teeth in anger, while still holding his midsection. It was one thing to be a repressed little fucker, but to blame it on him was both pathetic and entirely infuriating. Takada seemed to be gearing up to say more, but Tsuna decidedly had enough. Shifting a little, his hand came across the outline of the small knife in his pocket. Normally his lack of hesitation would be surprising, but angry as he was, Tsuna didn't think twice before slipping out the blade and burying it up to the hilt in the back of Takada's skull while the boy was still in the middle of coming up with more insults for the brunet. A moment of shocked silence permeated the air before the larger boy slumped and fell forward. Wincing in disgust, whether over the dead body or Takada's entire existence, Tsuna grasped the hilt of his knife before giving a sharp tug to dislodge it from Takada's skull. It took a minute, but eventually the knife was free. With a grimace, Tsuna wiped it on the larger boy's clothes before heaving him over to take a look at his face. It looked like the fall might have broken his nose, but Tsuna decided it wouldn't make much difference to the boy– no, the corpse. It was starting to make him a little sick, but he figured the full impact of his actions hadn't sunk in. That or he was more fucked up than he thought. Gazing at the still-warm body, Tsuna was struck with an idea, and bringing the small knife once more, he pressed it into the boy's forehead and started carving. Later, when Tsuna found himself cleaning his knife, checking over his appearance, double checking the area for clues of his presence and making his way to the more populated areas of Nanimori unnoticed, he decided he wouldn't mind a next time.

'Next time' came sooner than he thought. Tsuna had been idly lying on the riverbank near the outskirts of town. Usually he would be home around the time the sun started setting, but as the light slowly faded from his surroundings, Tsuna decided he'd rather watch the sky. His newest bruises ached, and his legs were tired from running to the river in the first place. Even after he'd killed Takada, it seemed there were plenty others to take his place. Soon the boy heard the sound of raucous laughter sounded sharp in the air. Three teens passes along the street above him, and it wasn't until Tsuna made eye contact with one that he recognised Mochida sempai and two of his lackeys.

"Hey you guys go on ahead, I gotta take a dump." The older boys made equal sounds of disgust and amusement before leaving a grinning Mochida behind. The other boys hadn't noticed Tsuna. '_Way to make this easier', _they boy thought, idly tracing the hilt of his hidden knife. Since the incident with Takada he'd taken to carrying it around, almost hopeful that he would eventually need it. Soon after, Mochida lay twitching, blood leaking from the gash stretching across his throat. After dumping the body in the river, Tsuna wondered where this was taking him. He didn't want to be a mass murderer, but with two innocent lives on his hands at the tender age of twelve, it was steadily heading in that direction. '_Not that Takada or Mochida were innocent.' _Tsuna had known (or at least found out afterwards) that Takada had been harassing several boys, going as far as assaulting them in the worst of ways. Mochida was part of a gang, which wasn't such a well kept secret. His involvement with assaulting civilians, and most commonly, teenage girls, wasn't as well known. It was no big secret either that Mochida was after Sasagawa Kyouko, and although Tsuna had long gotten over his crush for the girl, he still felt the need to protect her. '_If you put it that way, I sound like some sort of fucked up vigilante_', Tsuna snorted at the thought. He was sure his morality was strong enough that he wouldn't kill innocent people, but a self-satisfying figure of justice was not his ideal career choice. He didn't owe it to anyone – in fact they should owe him for getting rid of the scum. '_Maybe I'll start charging them._' Dusting himself off, Tsuna idly thought he sounded more like a hitman than a vigilante while he started his journey back home.

XXXXX

Whether through some ironic twist of fate, though more likely pure coincidence, Tsuna had his first encounter with a hitman not two weeks after his run-in with Mochida. It was nearly entirely dark outside his school and if not for an intense bad feeling in his gut, Tsuna was sure he'd have been dead. He raised his hand to his hair, feeling the frayed ends of a couple of locks where the bullet had passed through. Unfortunately, by throwing himself to the side without looking, he managed to tumble down a set of stairs, breaking his arm in the process – if the pain was anything to go by. Fortunately, he was able to take cover in the alcove besides them. He could hear the assassin approaching, moving down the stairs quickly. Tsuna almost heaved a sigh of relief when the man continued forwards, under the assumption that Tsuna had continued down the corridor, before choking on it when he saw another person round the corner. The assassin whirled around at the sound, only for the newcomer to rush forwards, tonfas raised to smash them into the assassin's head. Under the attack, the unknown man crumpled as if he were a puppet and his strings were cut, his gun clattering to floor.

"Hibari sempai."

Hibari glanced between the man on the floor and the injured boy besides the stairs. Tsuna kept a calm facade, despite the hint of fear Hibari could glean from the other boy's eyes. Whether it was fear from almost being killed, or fear of himself, Hibari didn't know nor did he care. Neither did Hibari question how a student he had never met face to face before knew his name.

"Ah, I'm S-Sawada Tsunayoshi. Nice to meet you." Hibari grunted in reply, too busy observing the unconscious man. He didn't mention it wasn't the first assassin he found going after the boy (it was around the fifth), but it was the first he let slip so close. Nobody targeted _his_ students on _his_ turf and got away with it. From what he heard from the stupid herbivores, Tsuna was distantly related to a large, wealthy family. Hibari couldn't care less about the boy's connections and would opt to stay out of it, until it became apparent that even the boy was aware of them. Hibari was ruthless, yes, but Nanimori was his kingdom, and the unaware herbivore in front of him did not do anything to deserve to be left to mercy of those who would prey upon him.

From besides him, Hibari heard the groans of the third person present as he woke up. He would have sighed, if Hibari was the kind of person to sigh, for having to deal with these herbivores. He would have turned to finish the job too, except he saw something entirely unexpected in the brunet in front of him. The fear in the herbivore's eyes disappeared, shifting towards a blood lust that _screamed_ carnivore_._ With surprising speed, the boy whipped out a blade, taking aim and letting it fly straight into the forehead of the awakening man. It wasn't until a few moments later that the boy seemed to have realised what he'd done, quickly looking towards Hibari with panic in his expression.

"Ah, uh, H-Hibari s-sempai..."

The skylark inwardly smirked with a new-found interest of the boy in front of him. '_Sawada Tsunayoshi.'_

"Clean up this mess. If I find bloodstains on my school I'll bite you to death." Hibari allowed his smirk to show on his face before he turned and left. '_What an interesting herbivore.'_

XXXXX

Tsuna's back _ached_. He had spent a good two hours dragging the (heavy) corpse out of the school, making sure to take the route with the least chance of getting caught, only for Hibari to turn up and take it off his hands. Tsuna didn't know what the older boy would do with the body, and he wasn't entirely keen to find out, despite how useful the information could be in the future. He had to spend another hour retracing his path to clean up any stray spots of blood that may have stained Hibari's precious school. Let it not be said that killing was all fun and games. The one lesson Tsuna did gain from the entire ordeal, asides from the difficulty of getting rid of bodies (and ignoring the enigma that was Hibari Kyoya _entirely_), was that he needed a lot more training. He wasn't entirely sure why someone would target him, but it seemed likely that the gang Mochida was involved with wanted revenge. Tsuna couldn't come up with a logical reason otherwise, but if he'd known true dynamics of a gang he'd have realised that Mochida was a pawn whose existence was probably not even missed – that is, assuming his gang leader even knew about his death.

Either way, Tsuna needed to train. He started taking daily jogs, starting small but quickly building up to a two hour course that would lead him halfway up a mountain. He practised throwing knives more; thankful he'd done some practise before the assassin attacked, even if it was merely for boredom. Every other Sunday he would take a train that led him closer to Tokyo to go to a shooting range under the pretence of having regular study sessions. If his mother wondered what her son was doing waking up at 5 AM, or why there was a constant _thunk thunk thunk_ coming from his room, she never asked. He desperately wanted to train in hand to hand combat, but was struggling to find a place to do so or someone to teach him. Any local place that taught martial arts did so purely for formal competition purposes, and didn't even breach the level he wanted to learn at. Things were starting to look depressing on that front.

Tsuna was reading a book on hand to hand combat as he made his way through the school grounds, and sighed. A sudden burst of warning in his gut barely gave him time to look up and step back before a metal tonfa swung downwards where his head had been, ripping the book from his hands. Wide brown eyes met steel blue ones, yet neither of their owners spoke. Tsuna was busy contemplating whether Hibari had finally decided to punish him for killing someone (because no matter how you looked at that, it was odd right?) and how far he could run away this time before the older boy spoke.

"You will not learn through books, Herbivore." The brunet had to take a moment to realise what the prefect was even referring to before he replied.

"I can't really find another way to learn." Tsuna was apprehensive, wondering whether the raven haired boy would accept that as a decent excuse, or why he even _cared_ that Tsuna still couldn't fight head on.

"Come." The younger boy barely registered the order before Hibari had turned and started walking away. Making a snap decision (which seemed not to be the way he made all his life decisions), Tsuna swallowed his questions and followed.

He found himself in a large, open gym. Tsuna wasn't aware his school had facilities like the ones he found in the gym, although from what he remembered from bits of rumours he'd heard, the room would belong almost exclusively to Hibari – and the disciplinary committee by extension. He warily eyed a particular bench-press that had at least seven large weights on either end and wondered what Hibari could possibly want him to do there. Fortunately (or possibly unfortunately) the prefect bypassed the entire range of intimidating exercise machines and made a beeline towards the large ring in the centre of the room, Tsuna trailing after him with a sinking feeling in his gut. He would likely need extra bandages that night.

Tsuna had to restock his small medical kit the next day. Hibari was strong, but more than that, he was _ruthless_. Tsuna wondered if he even was holding back. He seemed to want to push Tsuna to the limits, and then some, and only until the brunet could barely stand did he let up, abruptly declaring their 'lesson' over.

"Same time, tomorrow."

Tsuna soon learnt that Hibari was definitely holding back. The first time Tsuna managed to land a hit on the boy (about a week after their first session), he grinned and increased his speed even more. The brunet then found out that Hibari's smile was to be even more feared than his glare. If not for the feeling in his gut that helped read his opponent, or the odd day or two of rest that Hibari allowed, Tsuna was sure that training with the prefect would have been hell. He never dared complain, for the few times he managed to strike or counter attack against the older boy, the fierce rush of pride and satisfaction left him thankful the prefect bothered to train him. His mother seemed thrilled he had joined a club (as he told her), and even more so that he managed to make a friend. Tsuna didn't bother to refute her claims seeing how happy the woman was, and every now and again he wondered if the raven haired boy considered them friends.

Roughly four months after their first lesson, Tsuna and Hibari could be often found exchanging blow for blow in the private gym of Namimori middle. Kusakabe, the second in command for the disciplinary committee, often came to watch the two. Tsuna may not have known, but Kusakabe could understand the massive feat the young brunet had achieved by progressing so far in such a short amount of time. Tsuna had started to enjoy their daily spar, and he was sure the other boy did as well, so it came as a surprise one day when he entered the gym to find Hibari waiting with a black cloth clutched in his hands rather than the customary attack as a greeting.

"What's going on?" The small boy cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Put this on." Hibari held out the cloth, which Tsuna received without question. "You have good instincts, but you don't use them properly. From now on we will fight with you wearing that."

Tsuna nodded, slipping the cloth over his eyes and giving it a secure double knot at the back of his head. He didn't express his discomfort at the complete lack of sight, knowing it would be pointless to do so, but that didn't mean he was entirely happy with the change in program. Edging towards the ring once more, Tsuna jumped in and faced what he hoped to be Hibari. Without warning, an attack came from his left, knocking the boy off his feet. He barely had time to orientate himself again before another attack came – which he dodged by a hair's breadth. The brunet nearly gulped, feeling rather than seeing that the prefect had a smile on his face.

XXXXXXXX

Hibari rarely took interest in people. He was a carnivore, and only herbivores flocked together and made packs of 'friends'. Sawada Tsunayoshi however was no ordinary herbivore. When they had first met, he had trembled like the frightened animal he seemed to be, only to finish off the other herbivore in a way that was entirely _not _herbivore. He fought Hibari head on, and while he still was like a hatchling, the brunet showed a mass of potential. He didn't act like a carnivore should at school – when others insulted him he would barely respond, which Hibari found most annoying – but when he saw other weak herbivores in trouble he would attack without mercy.

The weaklings started to leave the Herbivore alone when Hibari went out of his way to pick him up after school every couple of days. At least they understood not to go near what was his. Either way, the prefect had trouble classifying the strange brunet. After much deliberation, he started referring to Tsuna as 'the omnivore' in his mind, but had yet to say so out loud until it was sure the omnivore would not betray his expectations.

"Herbivore."

Tsuna jumped back, trying to regain his breathing back to normal. Hibari had interrupted their spar with that one word. Tsuna indicated his head to the side in question.

"You should get yourself a weapon." The prefect considered what would suit the young brunet. He himself fought head on, and with brute strength – the tonfas were perfect for him but it would not suit the omnivore. Tsuna fought differently, it was almost like dancing how he twisted and twirled around his opponent, counter-attacking just as much has outright attacking. He had less strength than Hibari, which he made up with speed and a lithe, flexible body. His intuition was a strong weapon, but it was not enough. The prefect wanted to see the boy become stronger.

"Ah." Tsuna suddenly seemed embarrassed all of a sudden. "I was actually thinking... daggers? Or knives really. They feel most comfortable to me."

Hibari nodded. Daggers would suit the younger boy. Soon they returned to their spar.

The next day, Tsuna arrived to find Kusakabe holding a sleek, black box. It was fairly large, and Tsuna could only raise an eyebrow in question. The older boy grinned, waving Tsuna over with one hand. He set the box down, pressing hard on either side until the lid clicked open. Inside lay an array of knives – at least two of each. Deadly silver blades almost gleamed under the light of the room, practically asking to be used. Tsuna immediately zeroed in on a pair.

Looking entirely unlike the rest, the pair of tactical combat knives had ten inch blades. The matt black handles bled into the blades – which were also black almost entirely throughout, rimmed with silver. They were neither curved nor grooved but were perfectly smooth and straight, giving the knives a symmetrical outlook and a dead centre balance. The brunet didn't hesitate before he grabbed the pair, immediately ignoring every other knife within the box. Experimentally adjusting his grip a few times, Tsuna whirled the knives around before giving a slash to an imaginary opponent.

"I want these."

Kusakabe whistled, grinning once more. "Hell, I didn't get around to saying anything yet." He laughed. "Consider it a present from Hibari-san, and nice choice Sawada-san."

Almost entrapped by his new toys, Tsuna barely thought before giving his usual response. "I told you to call me Tsuna."

The disciplinary member shook his head but made no comment. In his opinion, Tsuna was fast approaching the level of strength Hibari had, and should be treated with the same amount of respect as the prefect. Furthermore, not many people could fight Hibari _and_ get along with volatile teen.

"Now there are few basic rules about knives. Keep your knife dry, keep it clean – and all of it, not just the blade. You can oil it too, to prevent rusting. Most importantly, keep it sharp."

Tsuna nodded, evidently agreeing.

"Hibari-san will be coming in thirty minutes. That should be enough time for you to get used to your knives."

The brunet nodded again, setting out straight away into practise with his new favourite weapons. When Hibari arrived thirty minutes later, brown eyes dancing with barely-contained delight greeted him.

XXXXX

Tsuna didn't quite remember exactly when they became assassins. He didn't remember how he started including himself on Hibari's jobs, at the very least. It didn't come as a surprise that the prefect accepted hits on people; in fact it was more of a surprise to the brunet that the older boy took orders from people at all, even for the funds he used for his precious disciplinary committee. After having seen the house his parents left him, Tsuna would have thought Hibari would have had no need to rely upon himself for money before he realised that it was just like Hibari not to want to rely upon others – even his parents – for support.

It was on one of those jobs that Tsuna met the explosive teen known as Gokudera Hayato. Hibari had gone ahead to hunt his prey, leaving Tsuna to pick off whoever he wanted as long as he didn't get in the prefect's way – which was essentially the set up they agreed upon when Hibari first took Tsuna along with him on a job. The mansion they were in had a typical Italian style from the 19th century, which wasn't surprising considering that they were in fact, within Italy. As much as Hibari despised leaving Namimori and Japan, he would despise it more if the underworld noticed his kingdom because he drew attention to it by only taking hits there. And so they took a small jet that was built more for speed than luxury to Italy for their jobs, later which Tsuna found was another part of Hibari's inheritance.

After having cleared the first floor, Tsuna found his way to the basement, picking off each person he came across. They chose a day when almost the entire house (sans the boss, who wanted to spend time with his woman alone) was absent for a particular celebration, leaving almost no resistance. The whoosh of air and subsequent squelch his throwing knives made as they found their target in enemy heads and chests was almost inaudible in the dark stone corridor. Only the following thunk of a heavy body hitting the floor broke the silence until the brunet picked up the sound of harsh and heavy panting. Following the sound, Tsuna found himself outside a wooden door that was almost hidden in the gloom. He winced at the loud creak the door made when opened, but soon forgot about it upon seeing the room's resident. A silver haired teen lay slumped against the opposite wall, thick ropes binding his wrists to the wall, keeping him upright. Emerald eyes glared fiercely at the intruder, despite the obvious fatigue within them.

"What do you fuckers want now?" His voice was raspy, through lack of water or excess shouting, Tsuna couldn't tell.

"Why are you here?"

Confusion was evident upon the other teen's face. "Who are you?"

"I asked first."

Emerald eyes narrowed in anger for a moment before they closed and their owner sighed in resignation.

"These fuckers have been questioning me obviously. They think I know some shit about my dad's family." The silver haired teen spat. "My dad practically handed me over to them."

Tsuna took a moment to process the information before replying.

"Well it looks like they managed to piss someone off. My friend upstairs is doing his job of getting rid of the boss of this place, and I'm just getting rid of the rest."

The bomber snorted. "So you're here to kill me."

"What?" The brunet blinked. "No. The job was to get rid of the boss and as many members as possible and you've just told me that you're neither."

"Are you stupid?! I've seen your face, how could you just let me go?" The response came almost as a growl. Gokudera couldn't believe that anyone would simply let him off just because he was innocent. That was practically unheard of in the underworld, especially from an assassin. The bomber refused to believe that someone would be so kind without asking for something in return. "What do you want?"

"Nothing." Tsuna shrugged, going over to pick cut through the binding rope with one of his smaller knives. They fell to the floor, as would have their captive if Tsuna didn't reach out to catch him. "Do what you want now, go home or whatever. You're free."

The bomber stumbled to his feet, the confusion and disbelief in his face morphing into sadness and anger.

"I don't have anywhere to go. I'm not going back to a place that would cast me off like this."

"Then come with me."

Gokudera blinked once. Twice. "A-are you serious?"

"Sure." Tsuna gave a smile. "Oh by the way, what's your name?"

The bomber almost laughed. "Gokudera. Gokudera Hayato."

"Nice. You can call me Tsuna." He grinned, unbelieving of his good luck.

Later, when Hibari and Tsuna were meeting up after all the work was done, the prefect gave a glare to his companion's extra baggage before looking to Tsuna for explanation.

"This is Gokudera Hayato. They were holding him captive in the dungeon."

"Hn." Hibari turned his back on Tsuna and started walking away. "You can start hunting by yourself then, omnivore."

"Did your partner just abandon you?" Gokudera was wide-eyed, already starting to feel guilty for breaking up the assassin duo. Tsuna simply laughed in response.

"No, no. Hibari has his own way of saying things." The bomber looked confused. "Think of it as approval for independence. He likes working alone, but he's been letting me get the feel of things with him. I couldn't do it on my own anyway since I don't have my own Kusakabe-"

"Kusakabe?" The silver hair teen interrupted without thinking.

"Pretty much his right hand man. Do don't think we just barge in and kill people do you? We need to gather info and plan and all that stuff." Gokudera nodded, before a thought occurred to him and his eyes widened.

"You want me to be your right hand man?" The bomber asked incredulously.

"Well yeah, if you want. I've heard that you're practically a genius, who wouldn't want you?"

Gokudera's answer was cut off upon their arrival at a sleek, black car. Hibari was already inside, glaring impatiently at the duo while another, older teen – Gokudera assumed this was the 'Kusakabe' – was smiling somewhat sheepishly. Tsuna sighed and turned to look the taller boy in the eye.

"I don't care what family you came from, who your parents are or even what people said to you in the past. None of that matters. I don't want a subordinate, I want a partner, and I want that partner to be you." The brunet looked a little sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "You don't know how many times Hibari had to hit me to shut up about getting you on my side after I first heard about you."

Gokudera sputtered indignantly, and in the following months he denied with vehemence that he _blushed_. Tsuna held back another smile before he offered the teen his hand.

"Partner?"

"Tch. Idiot." He grasped the offered hand.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm amazed I updated this within a week '^'b

xxreader - I've got the plot planned out .w. And yeah, I want it to be fun

Koreijutsu-shi - Thank you /o/ I'm aiming to update it every Wednesday

Sky Veneziano - Knives are the best yo. Thanks

Guest#1 - Eh, sorry it isn't. If I were to make a pairing it'd probably be 1827 '^' If someone wanted a pairing I could include that and have background pairings, but it wouldn't take much away from the plot

Sayaku Shiina 'Shi-Chan - Sadly I have to limit the gore so it doesn't go into M category, but fighting scenes shall come '^'b

Guest#2 - Haha, thank you yo

rainbowsandcottoncandies - .w. Danke

Kuroi Rin - He is, but it's sort of difficult to separate strong Tsuna from sarcastic for me '^'; And thank you yo

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><p>"Caelum-sama, how did the mission go?" A silver haired teen greeted the slim figure that seemed to have emerged out of the shadows. He was clad in a near skin-tight, charcoal bodysuit that had black protective plates over the chest, forearms and knees. A sturdier silver plate ran down the back of the suit, protecting the wearer's spine and several straps and pouches for weaponry lay about his person.<p>

"Hayato, I told you to call me Tsuna when I'm not on a mission." The assassin grumbled, flopping down upon the seat next to the bomber before removing the black mask that covered the lower half of his face. It was a sleek black made of a light metal alloy with discrete circular filters on either side that allow it to double as a gas mask as well as a means of keeping his identity secret. Tsuna reached back and tugged the band that held his hair back, sighing contently as he ran his hand through it.

"But Caelum-sama is Caelum-sama."

"Stop calling me Caelum."

"Aether-sama–"

Tsuna shot a glare at the other boy, not missing the hidden amusement he found in the bomber's eyes. Gokudera was both his friend and right-hand man. Despite being equals, the teen had somehow developed a massive amount of respect for Tsuna, never calling his by a name that didn't end in the respective 'sama' suffix until Tsuna finally threw a fit and was thankfully reduced to 'Tsuna-san' in casual conversation. It was hell during their last two years at middle school – with the bomber exploding at anyone who he felt disrespected his "Tsuna-sama". If Hibari hadn't forced them both to attend, even if he did allow them long absences for jobs, Tsuna would have dropped out years ago. Thankfully, High school was not compulsory so at sixteen, he was entirely free – as was Gokudera, who was surprisingly only born the month before him. Tsuna was only glad that Gokudera saw him as a friend as well as a boss (though how he became a boss from a partner still eluded him), otherwise his overly polite demeanour would have driven Tsuna mad.

"Tsuna-san." The bomber sounded only slightly reluctant as he relented. He'd memorised every alias that Tsuna went by, and could tease the boy endlessly by refusing to call his name. "How was the mission, Tsuna-san?"

"Good. It was a success. Thanks Hayato." The brunet stopped running his hand through his hair after feeling tiny specks of liquid clinging to the strands. Drawing it back, he saw the tell-tale redness of blood and grimaced.

"Ugh, I need a shower. Can you put my mask away?"

"Sure thing, Tsuna-san."

The brunet rolled his eyes before hoisting himself up. He drew all his knives and weapons before placing them carefully upon the coffee table that held the laptop that Gokudera had been paying attention to before Tsuna arrived. He would clean then later. After graduating middle school, he and Hayato moved in to a spacious, two bedroom flat in a town near Namimori. Tsuna hadn't wanted to entirely leave the area given that both Hibari and his mother still lived here, though the latter was under the assumption he'd gone to work in Tokyo. They still kept in contact, and he'd visit every so often.

"Remind me to text Nana when I get out." Tsuna barely stopped to hear the sound of affirmation before stalking to the bathroom and quickly stripping out of his assassin get up. Stepping into the shower and turning the temperature on high, it wasn't long before the hot water relaxed all his muscles, washing away the dirt, sweat and blood from his last mission. He let out a long, drawn out sigh as he slowly relaxed, working through the kinks in his shoulders. Showers were one of the few things that let him unwind after a job, especially after a particularly gruesome one like the last had been. Human traffickers. Tsuna shuddered. He'd never be able to understand just how someone could put other humans through such torture.

"Tsuna-san." Gokudera's call faintly echoed through the house. Quickly rinsing himself off and stepping into a pair of soft cotton trousers, Tsuna made his way back to the other teen, one towel still drying his hair.

"What's up Haya-chan?" The bomber made a face at the nickname, but made no effort to reprimand the other boy after years of putting up with the brunet's odd nicknames. Tsuna grinned and sat besides the bomber, glancing at the laptop in front of them. Several tabs of various emails were open.

"You told me to a keep a look out for missions concerning the Vongola." The brunet perked up at the mention of Vongola, eyes narrowing and playful demeanour vanishing.

"The Vongola asked for a hit?"

The bomber shook his head. "Someone's been asking for hits against them."

Raising an eyebrow, Tsuna turned towards the laptop, glancing at one of the requests. It was against one of the important members of the CEDEF, yet the brunet let out a sigh of relief when it wasn't the member he'd been looking out for. He went to the other tabs, his frown deepening at each request, eyes narrowing at names he recognised until finally he came across a hit on the man he'd been trying to simultaneously avoid and monitor. Sawada Iemitsu.

"This isn't a case of one person from Vongola pissing off someone else. Whoever sent these has a grudge against the entire family, it's like anyone related to them is being targeted." Tsuna frowned, worrying his lip in anxiety.

"You're freelance, so there's no need to worry Tsuna-san." Gokudera forcefully inserted some cheer, unnerved at the reaction of his partner and best friend. The brunet shook his head, smiling bitterly.

"I'm the son of the external advisor."

"T-the young lion of Vongola?" Tsuna grimaced at the name.

"Sawada Iemitsu. I don't want anything to do with that bastard, hence why I completely avoided Vongola. He still thinks I'm a sweet, innocent civilian." The words were spat out, as if merely relation to the man made Tsuna sick. Gokudera could only nod soberly, completely understanding complicated familial relations.

"Anyway, I'll be fine. 'Sawada Tsunayoshi' is supposed to be in Tokyo, and this apartment is under a different name. The only one who even knows I moved out is Nana–", Tsuna quickly halted, eyes widening. He swore.

"What is it, Tsuna-san?"

"My mother. Quick Hayato, get the bikes." Tsuna had already jumped up, fetching his keys and returning to his room, quickly throwing on suitable riding attire. He grabbed a helmet, throwing another at Gokudera without looking before grabbing a random assortment of knives to be hidden on his person, and a sleek, black handgun he hid under his jacket. Quickly locking the door behind him, he ran down the stairs, Gokudera already ahead of them to prepare their motorcycles, before arriving onto the street where the bomber was waiting. Hopping on, Tsuna drove off with the silver haired teen behind him, cursing his father the entire way for leaving them without protection.

They arrived in Namimori near thirty minutes later, having broken the speeding limit the entire journey. Gokudera was worrying silently. He remembered hitmen appearing randomly throughout their short time at school together; he'd go crazy checking nobody knew the identity of 'Caelum' but each time Tsuna would pass it off as an attempt on Hibari's life, or someone with a grudge against the local yakuza. The bomber could understand why Tsuna didn't want to relate himself to his father if he had abandoned them, but the lack of information was worrying. He should have _known_ that Tsuna had another target on his back - being the son of the leader of the CEDEF was just as dangerous as being as assassin, and how could Gokudera protect his friend properly if he didn't even know what he had to protect him from? The bomber grit his teeth, hoping at least his partner wouldn't be pulled further into Vongola's mess.

They rounded the last corner before coming to a halt. Tsuna was prepared to face an unidentified amount of enemies in order to save his mother but his hope shrivelled and died when he caught sight of his childhood home up in flames. Gokudera was snapped out of his musing by a sharp inhale of breath from the brunet besides him.

"Shit."

Tsuna barely heard Gokudera's comment before he was rushing forwards, intent on clawing his way in, on the miniscule chance that his mother was still alive. Strong arms gripped him from behind, halting his approach to the burning house. He could have gotten out of the hold, but not without injuring Gokudera and Tsuna wasn't gone enough yet to do that.

"Tsuna, get a hold of yourself." Gokudera rarely called him by his name, and the slight shock helped distract him from the desperate need to _do_ _something_ and the oncoming despair that followed the idea that maybe there was nothing he could do. Slowly, Tsuna relaxed in the hold of his best friend, feeling somewhat drained.

"Now. Can you sense anyone?" The young assassin frowned before concentrating on the mass of roaring flames before him. He'd forgotten about his uncanny sensory ability that could detect any living thing by looking for their innate flames. It was much harder to use on civilians but possible if he concentrated hard enough. Quickly, he searched the areas of the house, starting with the kitchen, for any hint, any clue of the small but warm trace of sun flames that belonged to his mother. As each room showed no signs of life, Tsuna become more and more worried. It was only after the last room - his own - showed up as a negative that he let his despair show.

"Gokudera I - I can't... S-she's not there." Tsuna was on the verge of panicking, and would have if only a shrill ringing hadn't started calling out. Gokudera quickly pulled out Tsuna's phone, glancing at it for a moment before a smile made its way onto his face.

"It's Hibari."

Tsuna blinked, quickly grabbing the phone and answering it before pressing it to his ear. He'd entirely forgotten about the older assassin's presence in Namimori.

"Kyoya?" Tsuna's voice was shaky, and if not for that he was sure the other teen would have berated him for using his first name so casually, even if Tsuna used it regardless of the other's protests.

"Calm down Omnivore. I have your mother." Tsuna heaved a sigh in relief, almost slumping to the ground as the tension left his body. Gokudera moved so the boy could lean upon him, which Tsuna gratefully did, shifting so they both could hear the conversation.

"Thank god. What happened?"

"Where are you?" Hibari blatantly ignored Tsuna's question, which Tsuna allowed in his relief that his mother was safe.

"Outside my house. Why is it on fire Kyouya?"

"Get out of there immediately. I'll be waiting at my house." Tsuna frowned but decided to comply nonetheless. Something was evidently wrong - or more wrong than his mother's house on fire.

"Hayato's with me." Hibari wouldn't let anyone in unless he'd invited them, so Tsuna was prepared to send the silver haired teen back to their apartment. Surprisingly, he didn't have to.

"Good, now both of you come." A moment later a series of beeps came through the phone. Hibari had hung up on them.

Tsuna blinked before motioning to Gokudera to follow. They each mounted their bikes once more and sped off, Gokudera still following since he wasn't as familiar with the route, but no longer at a breakneck pace. Thankfully the way to Hibari's house did not take long, and soon both the young bomber and young assassin stood waiting outside the large, imposing gates of the property. Every time Tsuna visited the mansion (because that essentially was what it was), he couldn't help but feel both impressed and worried about the fact that the house painted a large target sign on Hibari's back. Tsuna shook his head. Only Hibari Kyoya could handle being such an indiscreet assassin and survive.

Barely thirty seconds passed before the gates opened, allowing entry to the two teens. They rode their bikes in, Tsuna quickly discarding his somewhere near the front door, and Gokudera dismounting gracefully, straightening both bikes before following. The brunet didn't bother knocking when he knew that Hibari was expecting them. His impatience to see his mother and make sure she was entire unscathed overrode all formality. A tall boy with a large pompadour looked somewhat startled at their sudden entrance, but quickly overcame it.

"Kyoya-san is in the living room." Kusakabe nodded in respect to Tsuna and then Gokudera, both which were returned.

They arrived at the Japanese styled room to see Hibari sitting behind a normal low table, a cup of steaming tea in front of him. He casually wore a plain black yukata with a white obi, and looked the picture of serenity. Before Tsuna could voice his questions, the older teen cut him off.

"Your mother is resting in the guest room. I told her there had been an increase in vandalism lately."

Tsuna nodded, satisfied with the answer. He could convince Nana not to report the 'vandals' to the police, and leave it to Kyoya, who was pretty much the local law enforcement in all but name. He wasn't ready to tell her about the bloody world of the mafia, at least not before giving his asshole of a father one last chance to redeem himself and tell the woman what really was going on. If their lives were in immediate danger, that was the least he could do. Tsuna had a feeling that if he was the one to tell his mother, rather than his father, then some sort of irretrievable trust would be broken between the two. As much as he disliked the man, Tsuna wasn't yet prepared to ruin his marriage, not until he deemed it too dangerous for her not to know at least.

"What really happened then?"

"Mafia." Hibari grimaced. "I didn't recognise the family, but I took one of them to the basement to do some _questioning._"

The brunet assassin shuddered. Torture was a practise that no matter how necessary people deemed it in the mafia, he could never quite swallow. Sure he killed people, but he didn't hurt them while killing them, and he even rejected hits on decent people. Thankfully he could always count on Hibari to help him if he ever needed to extract information from someone. Tsuna much preferred the jobs he'd do for the prefect in return, and Hibari could satisfy his somewhat sadistic personality. The shorter boy indicated for Hibari to continue, the latter who frowned, but did so anyway.

"They were only lackeys. Each of them had been ordered to kill anyone associated with Vongola, but none of them knew the real reason why. Those weaklings decided to pick off the civilians first." Hibari spat the last line. He had always despised those who preyed upon the weak and unaware like cowards rather than facing someone who could actually fight back. "The only thing they knew was the word 'Gesso'."

Tsuna blinked. "Is that some Italian word I haven't learnt yet?"

"I wouldn't know." Hibari replied, almost petulant about it. Tsuna had taken to Italian like fish to water while he still struggled a bit, despite starting it earlier. Hibari was better at Chinese and surprisingly English, but Tsuna still beat him in French.

"It's a name. A relatively small _famiglia_, I'm not sure what sort of grudge they would have against the Vongola. I mean traditionally the Vongola protect small families from larger ones." Gokudera scowled at the two faces that were suddenly focused on him. "I'm mafia born, of course I know this stuff."

"Hn."

Tsuna grinned. "Ah Hayato, we would be lost without you." He winked, watching the bomber become flustered in response.

Gokudera was gearing up for a response when a knock was heard from the entrance to the room and Kusakabe's head appeared.

"Kyoya-san, there's a new request." Kusakabe had taken to calling Hibari's hits 'requests' so that it didn't imply that Hibari was being _ordered_ to do anything. Hibari gave him a look that explicitly said 'can't this wait?'

Kusakabe shook his head. "The request is for Tsuna-san."

The brunet in question blinked. "Eh Hayato, do I have any new requests?"

The bomber quickly checked his phone before frowning. "I don't see-"

"Tetsu." Hibari cut them off. The word was both a question and a command to explain.

Kusakabe grimaced. "I meant that the request is to target Tsuna-san."

XXXXX

The meeting room had a tense atmosphere surrounding it Despite the cheerfully sunny Italian weather outside, the three men each had dark, sombre expressions on their faces. There was nothing said, only a quiet mourning took place for the recent loss of their comrades. A man in his mid twenties finally growled in anger.

"Well? Are we going to fucking do something or not?"

"Xanxus! Don't be so disrespectful." A blonde man in his forties reprimanded the Varia leader, only to get a sneer in return. The last man in the room smiled at the two. He was aged, sporting silver hair and a wrinkled but kind face. Vongola Nono finally spoke up.

"No Xanxus is right. It may not have affected any of the upper ranks yet, but we cannot ignore the fact that someone is killing off members of Vongola."

"It's a fucking manhunt. Who'd you piss off this time, old man?"

"Xanxus!" Sawada Iemitsu, head of the CEDEF, hissed.

"What makes you say that, Xanxus?" Timoteo ignored the hissing blonde.

"I've done enough of my own to know." The Varia leader snorted. "If they had a grudge they would go straight after you. You aren't known to be exceptionally kind-hearted either, so they aren't killing people off to lure you out because it wouldn't happen." Xanxus ignored the dirty look Iemitsu gave him. "It's a declaration of war."

Timoteo smiled sadly at his adopted son. After it was revealed they were not in fact blood-related, their relationship had been strained. Even now the older man could see how agitated the Varia leader was that someone was attacking his family. After another moment, he inwardly frowned. Despite being the largest mafia family in the world, they were not under constant attack. In fact, usually the name provided protection against those who would fear invoking their ire. The old man couldn't think of any of their rival families resorting to this - an all out war with Vongola would destroy the entire mafia community - and they knew this. Also, it just wasn't their style. Any large family had some semblance of decency, and targeting grunt workers and associated civilians was one of the least decent things a mafia member could resort to. Any family who had to power to start a war with Vongola was either suicidal or very large and powerful, hence they were stumped as to who was picking off their members. No names or insignia had been left behind - simply the dead bodies.

"Timoteo, you should think of your son." The leader of CEDEF cut in, disrupting Nono's thoughts. "He is your last heir. Right now he's in France, but to may be better if he came back to Italy."

Vongola Nono nodded. "You should bring in your own wife and son, Iemitsu."

"It's okay." The blonde waved his hand in a placating manner, grinning. "My Nana and Tsuna-fish are safe. Nobody knows where they are."

Xanxus let out a snort, as if he didn't believe the older man in the slightest. He made to get up and leave, eager to start his own investigation into the manner, when Timoteo called him back.

"Xanxus, I would like you to be the one who retrieves Frederico, please. It would be most reassuring that way."

The Varia leader glared at his adopted father, but in the end made no protest. Continuing on his way, he roughly opened the sleek, wooden doors to the meeting room, snorting when silver-haired man fell through. Varia's second in command, Superbi Squalo looked somewhat sheepishly at his boss, before looking at the other occupants in the room where his expression morphed into a glare. 'He looks like a territorial little cat.' Xanxus mused, almost smiling at his best friend's antics.

"Get up, Trash."

For the second time that day (though the room's occupants were unaware of it), a phone rang out, interrupting whatever was to be said next. Xanxus glared at the blonde, who was the source of the irritating noise, but held back just in case it was important. Said blonde hurriedly checked his pockets before pulling out a small, red device. He looked alarmed for a moment before he quickly answered the call.

"What is it now, Oregano?" A silence was heard as the other person on the line answered. "What?!" The shout surprised the other occupants of the room, but the man's next words brought a dark look to their faces. "Did... did they find her body?" The CEDEF leader let out a shuddering sigh at what was presumed to be a negative response. "What about my son?" Xanxus narrowed his eyes, turning to look fully at the CEDEF leader to observe his reactions. "... I see. Call me if you get any updates. Thanks Oregano." The phone call ended, and Iemitsu sighed, turning towards the other occupants of the room who looked at him expectantly.

"Well?" Xanxus growled.

"They burnt down Nana's home." The blonde man swallowed. "And my son is missing."

XXXXX

"You better not touch Tsuna-san!" An agitated silver-haired bomber glared at the raven-haired assassin. Said assassin looked at Tsuna appreciatively, as if considering it. He smirked and the bomber growled.

"Kyoya, you're really not helping here." The only brunet in the room tried to placate his partner and simultaneously hold him back from launching at the assassin while glancing at Hibari somewhat nervously. He received another smirk for his efforts.

"Relax herbivore. I will not touch your mate."

Gokudera stilled, before turning a bright pink and resumed trying to strangle the prefect.

"His is not my mate." The bomber hissed indignantly. "He's my partner!"

"Hn." If Hibari was the type to grin, he would be grinning widely by now. "It's the same thing, is it not?" He heard a strangled sound in return, as if Gokudera choked upon his spit.

"I- I didn't mean it like that-"

The bomber's protests was cut off by a laugh and Tsuna patting him on the back. "Now, now Hayato, you're really not helping yourself here." He grinned, before turning to the bewildered Kusakabe, becoming serious once more.

"Do you know who requested it?"

"No, I don't. But we could trace the contact number they provided."

Hibari nodded, before making a gesture that indicated the teen was dismissed. Kusakabe bowed, before exiting the room once more.

"It's odd though." The bomber in the room frowned, before seeing the looks of his companions and continued. "Well even if you are related to-", Gokudera stopped, looking at Tsuna in question. The brunet waved him off.

"It's fine, he already knows."

Gokudera blinked, not sure how to feel about being the last to know his partner's personal information. He shoved the thoughts to the side for now, before continuing. "Even if you are related to the CEDEF leader, in the eyes of the public, you're still a civilian. There's no need to get a high calibre assassin like Hibari after you." Hibari seemed to enjoy the indirect appraisal of his skills. Gokudera pointedly ignored the amused look in his eyes. "I mean Nana is also related to Sawada Iemitsu, but they only sent grunts after her when logically you two would be under the same level of protection."

Tsuna grimaced at his implied relations to his father, no matter how true they were, before he turned to a frown at the other implications. "So I'm being targeted for something else? It must be big if they wanted Kyoya for it."

"You don't think they know that you're an assassin?" Gokudera asked, worried.

"If they did know, things would probably be a lot worse, if my dad doesn't murder me first."

"As of the herbivore would come close."

Tsuna smiled at the compliment. It was rare that the skylark didn't feel like insulting someone. "Well", he mused. "I know someone I could ask about it." Tsuna looked at the other assassin. Are you okay with following the trace of who asked for a hit on me?" While Hibari was a good friend, Tsuna knew the problem wasn't his, so there was little reason for the teen to help out.

"Hn. I will not allow anyone to use me for their petty plans."

The brunet almost grinned at the blatant (in his eyes at least) excuse the other assassin had given, but knew better than to do so. "Then that's sorted. I'll be finding out why I'm a bigger target than I should be, and Hayato, can you stay at home and keep things running? You can do independent information gathering for either of us."

"Fine." The bomber sighed. He really didn't want to be separate from his partner when there was an unknown enemy after them, but knew better than to insist to tag along after the last time. When they still hadn't been together long, Gokudera had been offended that Tsuna hadn't wanted to fight besides him. When he finally convinced the assassin to bring him along, he'd almost gotten the other boy killed covering a sniper for him. He took the lesson to heart, especially after he realised Tsuna wasn't doubting his combat skills, but highly valued his other skills that the brunet himself didn't possess.

"Thanks Hayato." Tsuna let out a wide smile in response, knowing how hard it was for the bomber to let him go out into danger alone.

"What herbivore are you going to ask?"

The young assassin faced Hibari and grinned. "Xanxus."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Haha... I'm late '^'; I added an omake as an apology

**Hibari-Sayaku Shiina** - I shall do then, although nothing to up the rating .w. For one, Mukuro mainly hated mafia families, because it was a family that hurt him, and Tsuna is freelance, so that would reduce the animosity. Also his stance shall be revealed in due time '^'b

**percy44442** - Thank you .w. It's a wonder how time goes so fast between updates o-o

**Kuroi Rin** - Well I can somehow imagine Tsuna getting to know all sorts of people. Even if he is a little more ooc here, his overall nature is still gentle enough to interest people

**Snowyh2o** - Hue hue, almost~ And nope, it didn't. In reality, I'm surprised Xanxus wouldn't have found out sooner. I'm sure there would have been maids who remembered some strange kid appearing out of nowhere, and speculation to start and whatnot. Xanxus and Tsuna are slightly closer in age, because I think them having even a semi-decent relationship would be more plausible that way.

**Akane Ume** - Thank you~ I just found it a shame, Gokudera is amazingly smart and is far too loud to be cut out as an assassin. It'd seem a waste not to use him as a tactician, more so than he's too weak to fight. Kusakabe is... idk what personality he even has. He's pretty minor.

**Hweianime** - Haha, thank you .w. I'm not overly fond of relationships that don't have some sort of time to build up beforehand. They just seem a bit more shallow. And yeah, Tsuna shall meet Reborn, although he still has his mask to hide himself with~

["Text"] - speaking over the phone

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><p>"Takeshi! You'll be late for school if you don't hurry up."<p>

"Sure thing, dad." A tanned teenager grinned as he rushed down the stairs of his house-cum-restaurant. His short, spiky hair was jet black and his amber eyes glistened with enthusiasm. He grabbed the lunch box his father had set out for him, before picking up an apple and making his way towards the exit.

"I'm going! See ya dad." Yamamoto Takeshi gave a cheerful wave to the middle-aged man that was his father before exiting TakeSushifor the streets of Kyoto.

The elder Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi, smiled happily at his son's cheerful demeanour. After his wife had died ten years ago, his son had seemed to have fallen into a pit of despair. It had been only after an attempted suicide that Tsuyoshi had finally seen that he'd needed to do something, and had decided they both needed a new start in Kyoto. No matter how much time had passed, he was eternally glad to see that his son had recovered and returned to the cheerful young boy he had been before.

Said teenager smiled happily while munching on his apple, navigating the streets of Kyoto to get to his high school. The sun was shining, it was a Friday and his baseball team had won their last game. Even better, since he no longer lived in a small town, there were quite a lot of talented players in the school teams, and so he wasn't solely responsible for winning any more. It was a good day for Yamamoto Takeshi. He continued towards his school, oblivious to his surroundings before a sudden collision sent him sprawling. Looking up, Yamamoto saw an odd teenager, if he was a teenager (ages were hard to tell with foreigners, Yamamoto mused, and the other boy was _definitely_ not from Japan). Heterochromatic eyes - one a deep blue and the other a startling red - stared back at him. The stranger raised a pale hand to push unusual navy hair out of his face before standing and offering the same hand to Yamamoto.

"My sincerest apologies."

The voice was a low baritone, and Yamamoto could practically hear the smirk in it. It took the baseball player a moment to realise the voice had come from the odd boy he'd ran into, and that it was directed at_him_. He accepted the offered hand and allowed it to pull him back onto his feet before grinning sheepishly.

"Haha, sorry about that."

"It's no problem." The blue-haired boy now sounded amused. He glanced at Yamamoto with interest for a moment.

"You go to school here?"

The raven-haired teen blinked. He had forgotten entirely about school. '_Aha, I'm gonna be late_.' He worried silently for a moment before realising that he'd forgotten to reply _again_.

"Oh yeah. Are you new around here?"

The other boy smirked. "You could say that." He paused for a moment. "Well, I'll see you around." The smirk never left his face as he waved goodbye and continued down the street.

Yamamoto found himself staring after the boy before, with a jolt, he suddenly remembered he was now very late for school.

"Crap!" The baseball player sped off, pushing thoughts of the odd boy to the back of his mind as he concentrated on getting to school.

By the time school had ended, Yamamoto had forgotten entirely about the blue-haired boy with striking eyes. He'd gotten a lunchtime detention for being so late, having overslept and been held up on the street. The baseball player waved goodbye to his friends before heading in the opposite direction. Usually he'd walk home with one of them, but today he wanted to spend some time practising in the batting booth. He was walking along the street before he came across a small gang of people. They, too, seemed foreign. Oblivious as he was, Yamamoto didn't realise he was looking at a stereotypical yakuza-style group. '_Must be tourists_.' The teen was content to ignore them and go on his way, but a call held him back.

"Oi, kid." One of the group members had noticed him staring.

"Hey," Yamamoto smiled politely. "You need any help?"

Now most people at this point would have been warned off by the general look of the group, before becoming severely frightened at the amused leers they gave each other in response to his question. There was something entirely off about the group, no matter how you looked at it.

"_Sure_, kid. We need help getting to TakeSushi." Yamamoto blinked, before a grin lit up his face. '_They are tourists_.' The teen thought happily, assuming his dad's sushi shop had become famous enough to attract hoards of customers.

"Oh, no problem! Let me give you directions..."

Having given directions, Yamamoto happily made his way to the batting booths. He managed to play for three hours before deciding he didn't want to strain himself, and went to get something to eat. He rarely ate outside, which was a given since he lived in a sushi restaurant. The change was nice every once in a while.

It was pushing ten in the evening when he arrived home. For some odd reason, the streets around his house were completely deserted, when it wasn't unusual to still see some people milling about at that time. Shrugging it off, he went inside to find the restaurant surprisingly empty. A few distant sounds met the baseball player's ears, and he curiously followed them until they became louder and more distinguishable. Shouts, crashes and clangs could be heard from inside the dojo attached to their house. Yamamoto frowned. Was his father teaching a lesson there? The teen decided to check, opening the doors with his usual smile.

Said smile dropped when Yamamoto took in the sight before him. Blood spattered the floor, pooling around the dead bodies that littered the dojo. The bright red almost looked fake, like something from a scene in a horror movie, but something in Yamamoto knew that it was undeniably real. He could see his father surrounded by five or so enemies, and with a jolt the teenager realised they were part of the group from before. A sense of horror came over Yamamoto as he realised this, which only grew as he saw that same red - so bright and unreal - dripping from the sword his father clutched in his hands. The elder Yamamoto had an expression his son had never seen before: hard and cold, as he struck down another one of his assailants. Blood spattered once more, in small red droplets, one of them hitting the swordsman in the face. Yamamoto's breath caught in his throat.

"D-dad?"

Tsuyoshi looked up quickly, eyes widening at the sight of his son. He knew how he must look, covered in blood and about to strike down another person, end another life. The horror in his son's gaze froze the swordsman in his tracks. Yamamoto could only watch as his father stopped, the next moments almost too fast for him to comprehend.

One attacker rushed forwards, fist raised as if to hit the swordsman. Tsuyoshi span, raising one arm almost as a reflex to block, unwilling to kill another with his son watching. With a sudden, horrific realisation, the swordsman noticed for the first time the small blade in the attacker's hand. Said blade glinted in the light for a moment before it sank, harshly, into the older man's wrist.

"Dad!" Yamamoto's scream tore through the air. The teenager ran to the swordsman who had fallen by then, ignoring the enemies that still surrounded them. He cradled his father, glaring up at the remaining attackers as he shielded the man with his own body, as if to protect him. Tears streamed down Yamamoto's face as the assailants looked on in amusement. It was obvious to both parties that the boy couldn't really do anything as the assailants drew closer, almost gleeful at the prospect of finishing off both father and son.

A deep voice cut off their advances, filled with an oddly familiar hint of dark amusement.

"Oya oya, what do we have here?"

XXXXX

Gokudera blinked at his partner and best friend.

"Xanxus? The leader of Vongola's independant assassin squad?"

Tsuna nodded happily.

"Yup! If anyone will know what's going on, it'll be him."

"Who's this herbivore?" Hibari cut in, furrowing his eyebrows. The 'how do you know him' went unsaid, but was heard all the same.

"I think Hayato knows this, but I've run into the Varia a couple of times on jobs," Tsuna glanced at the bomber, who nodded in confirmation. "I think most of them were jobs I wasn't hired for, but I just wanted to get rid of the target." He furrowed his eyebrows and crinkled his nose in distaste. Both other teens knew that Tsuna only took hits on corrupt, disgusting humans, and sometimes went out of his way to stop them without people asking him. "Well anyway, after so many meetings we sort of became acquaintances. We stayed in contact. I think I still owe him one from the last time we met."

Hibari quirked an eyebrow in question, but Tsuna shook his head in amusement, as if to say 'later'.

"You'd have to tell him your real identity you know." Gokudera frowned in worry.

"Ah... he kinda already knows." Tsuna rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He quickly cut off the bomber before he could start worrying. "But he wouldn't tell anyone! Really, Hayato."

"How can you trust this herbivore?"

"He isn't the type to betray people, Kyoya." The brunet frowned. "Even then, I know some of his important secrets, and he kinda owes me not to reveal them. Plus I don't think he likes my father very much."

Hibari snorted, but accepted the reasoning nonetheless. The brunet was well aware that the skylark didn't have a high opinion of the Young Lion of Vongola either.

"I think I'll call him first." Tsuna mused. He was worried about the Varia leader, who would inevitably also be targeted as a member of Vongola, despite the strength he knew the other possessed. Gokudera seemed to perk up in interest while Hibari only eyed him curiously. Ignoring the two, Tsuna pulled out his phone, scrolling through the contacts until he found the one he wanted. He quickly pressed the call button and put the phone to his ear, waiting. Finally the person of the other side picked up.

"Hey Xanxus."

["Mini trash."]

XXXXX

"Timoteo, I have to go to Japan."

The old Don could only nod kindly. "Of course. Finding your son should become top priority now." Nono was able to emphasise with his external advisor more than anyone, having lost two sons already. He hoped he wouldn't have to go through that pain again; he hoped neither of them would.

Iemitsu stood up, nodding forlornly to his boss, before passing Xanxus and exiting the room. A heavy silence fell over the room, and the Varia leader found himself scowling. He'd never liked the blonde idiot of the CEDEF, but it still left a distasteful feeling to see the man look so broken. It reminded him of the times when his own father had heard of the death of his brothers. Scoffing mentally at his own thoughts, Xanxus turned to stalk out of the room as well. It wasn't his place to tell the CEDEF idiot about his son.

"Trash."

Squalo jumped slightly, before scowling and following behind the Varia leader. They had gone down a few corridors before the high pitched ringing of a phone sounded out. Squalo looked on curiously, but Xanxus' face betrayed no emotion when he checked the caller I.D before answering.

"Mini trash." He growled in hello.

["Aha... hey. How're you?"] The voice had a hint of nervousness within it.

Xanxus rolled his eyes. "Stop with the bullshit and tell me what you want."

["Hey! I am actually concerned with how you are. Especially with this... Vongola hunt going on."]

"I'm fucking dandy. Now speak." He could hear a sigh from the other end.

["At least you're okay."] Xanxus almost growled to tell him to _hurry the fuck up,_ when the speaker continued before he had the chance. ["Anyway, I just found out that I've gotten a hit on me."]

"Well obviously, mini trash. You're that idiot's son." The Varia leader almost sighed. '_What a waste of time.'_

["I know _that._ I meant, a good assassin was asked to kill me even though I'm a normal civilian."] Xanxus snorted, but the speaker ignored it. ["And my mother, who should be in the same situation as me, was only targeted by lackeys. Ah, she's okay by the way."]

"You should be grateful they only sent lackeys, trash."Although Xanxus did see the oddity there. It was only a minor discrepancy, but Xanxus had learnt not to overlook the small things. He'd look into it when he had the chance. "Maybe they think you have guards, or training, trash. Don't worry about every little thing."

A sigh. ["I guess you're right..."]

"Damn right I am."

["Thanks, Xanxus."] The Varia leader grunted in response.

"If you're so worried, why don't you come get rid of whatever bastard is behind this?"

["You want me to work with you?"] A surprised voice replied.

"Didn't you hear me?" Xanxus growled. He wouldn't admit he'd rather be able to keep an eye on the brat, even if he didn't have a problem with worrying about him. They were, by extension, family after all.

["No, no, I did. I'd love to work with you. Where should we meet?"]

"I've got some shit to do first, so meet me in Paris in about a week."

["Sure thing."]

Xanxus grunted once more before hanging up without a goodbye. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Squalo rolling his eyes.

"You're so obvious, boss."

He growled. "Shut it, sword trash." The Varia leader put away his phone and started forwards again, before Squalo could respond. The swordsman merely snorted before following once more.

XXXXX

In the opposite direction, Iemitsu had his mouth set in a grim line, as he made his way over to the CEDEF headquarters. It generally would have been farther away, but with the Ninth getting older, he thought it best to have them close by. He burst into the central command, before going over to the brown-haired woman he saw at one computer.

"Sir!" The woman greeted him as soon as she noticed his arrival.

"What have you got for me, Oregano?"

The young woman glanced nervously at the report, and somehow Iemitsu could tell it wasn't anything he'd be looking forwards to hearing.

"We haven't found any sign of your son, alive or... otherwise." She started. The CEDEF leader nodded for her to go on, relieved at least that there was no proof he was dead. "We don't know who is targeting him, or anyone from Vongola for that matter, but we did find a lead." Here the blonde narrowed his eyes sharply.

"What is it?" He prompted.

"A freelance assassin that is known in the underground by the name Alauda was contracted to kill your son." Iemitsu took in a sharp breath. "There was no confirmation that he completed the request. He is known to be... brutal, and has a signature of leaving behind victims that appear to have been beaten to death via blunt weapons. A few reports show usage of knives in his missions a few years ago, but it is suspected that was caused by his partner."

"So it isn't likely he set my house on fire."

Oregano shook her head. "No sir. Something so flashy isn't generally his style. And finally, rumours are that he lives in Japan."

"Damn, so he's ahead of us." The blonde man muttered.

"Sir?"

"Get a flight ready, Oregano. I will be going to Japan myself."

XXXXX

Tsuna heard the tell-tale beeping that Xanxus had hung up on him, before he looked at his phone and sighed. He looked at his two colleges, one who was waiting impassively, and the other... who was sparkling.

"Tsuna-sama is going to work with the Varia? Amazing!" Gokudera had a slightly reverent look in his eyes. Tsuna had long gotten out of shifting uncomfortably when this side of his best friend emerged, but it was a near thing.

"It's not that big a deal, Hayato. We have a common goal, after all." The brunet gave the bomber a calming smile, and while Gokudera was still proud, he didn't look ready to start bowing in front of the other boy after it. '_It's been a while since he was like that_,' Tsuna thought nervously, remembering the period of worship the bomber had gone through in the early years of their relationship. Thankfully it was an increasingly rare occurrence for him to revert to his previous attitude.

"When are you meeting the herbivore?"

"Paris, in about a week." Hibari raised an eyebrow, but ultimately said nothing as the brunet stretched and let out a loud yawn. "Man, today has been so hectic."

As if on cue, Gokudera also let out a yawn of his own, though he tried, and failed, to stifle it.

"Hayato, maybe it's time to go home and get some rest?"

The bomber blinked. "Sure thing, Tsuna-sama." He let out a smile. "Should I go get the bikes ready?"

"Ah, uh," the brunet shifted a little nervously. "I was hoping to stay here tonight, if that's okay with you, Kyoya." Tsuna looked towards the older boy with a tentative, hopeful smile. The raven-haired boy stared back at Tsuna for a moment before he finally get out an accepting grunt. The brunet almost let out a wry smile at the slightly resigned air in which Hibari took out his own phone and pressed a single button.

"Tetsu, prepare the guest room."

"Thank you, Kyoya!" The smile Tsuna let out was almost blinding to the older boy.

"Hn." He abruptly stood up. "I shall prepare dinner." Hibari swiftly exited the room.

"Tsuna-sama..." Gokudera looked worried as soon as the older assassin had left the room. "Are you going to be okay by yourself with him?"

The brunet let out a laugh. "Of course, what bad could happen with Kyoya around?"

"He, he could attack you!" Gokudera waved his arms wildly in agitation.

"But it's not unusual for him to attack me." Tsuna tilted his head in confusion. "We still spar together every couple of weeks."

"N-not that way!" Now the bomber had a tinge of pink dusting his cheeks.

The brunet blinked, before a sudden realisation hit him. "O-oh." He shook his head, as if shaking off his own embarrassment and gave a small, sad smile. "Kyoya wouldn't do that. I think he's still under the impression that we're dating."

The bomber's cheeks darkened. "But we aren't!"

"Haha, I know. That doesn't change the fact that Kyoya didn't even blink at the prospect. I don't think he likes me that much, Hayato."

"That guy wouldn't blink even if you slapped him in the face with a dead fish." Gokudera muttered in all seriousness. Tsuna looked at him for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"Tsuna-sama!" The bomber became flustered.

"Hahaha, thanks, Hayato." Tsuna grinned. "You sure cheered me up."

Gokudera was saved from answering with the reappearance of Hibari. He looked at Gokudera coldly, as if asking why the bomber was still in his house.

"That was quick," Tsuna remarked.

"I only had to heat it up."

Gokudera looked between the two before grumbling and getting up. "Fine, I'll be leaving now." He nodded at Hibari as he walked through the door, but not before pausing to mouth a quick 'be safe, Tsuna-sama' at the brunet. Tsuna smiled wryly, before getting up himself.

"Hn." Hibari swiftly turned and exited, expecting the brunet to follow. Tsuna did so, with a soft smile and a fond look in his eyes.

* * *

><p>[Omake] - <em>During the times Tsuna went on missions with Hibari.<em>

"Hibari?" A soft voice whispered into the darkness. The small sounds of their breathing were the only indications that the two boys were present. "Hibari, are you okay?"

Silence met the brunet's ears, and he began to panic. Hibari was right in front of him, but he wasn't moving or replying at all. For some reason he simply stopped, and the young assassin started imagining an array of scenarios that could cause this. Were the air vents bugged? Was Hibari caught in a trap? Tsuna was about to call out once more, but to his relief, the other boy finally responded.

"Stop making unnecessary noise, herbivore."

The brunet blinked. Hibari rarely called him 'herbivore' anymore, not unless he managed to piss the elder boy off (usually by greeting him with his first name).

"Then what's wrong?" Tsuna let a tiny hint of impatience leak into his voice. They had just left behind a corpse, one that soon would be discovered, and he didn't want to be in the immediate vicinity when that happened. "Come on Hibari, we have to go."

Another pause. Tsuna almost thought the skylark was messing with him before he heard some low mumbling from the other.

"... –uck."

"What?" The brunet blinked. "I didn't hear that, Hibari."

"I said," the raven-haired boy started, irritation leaking into his tone. "I'm stuck."

Tsuna stared at the assassin in front of him, and burst out laughing.

"Shut up," Hibari hissed, and if Tsuna squinted he thought he could see pink dusting the top of his ears. "Just help me."

Tsuna bit back another laugh. "Okay, okay. Let me get to you." The brunet started shifting forwards until he was right behind the prefect. "Now what do you want me to do?"

He heard a sigh. "Just get me unstuck, herbivore."

"Okay." Leaving one arm to keep him propped, Tsuna raised his other hand and grasped Hibari's upper thigh and pushed. The raven-haired boy started to feel uncomfortable with someone's hand in such an intimate place.

"Stop shifting, Hibari. You almost kicked me in the face."

"Then hurry up!"

Muttering under his breath, the brunet used his grip on Hibari to keep him up, and placed his other hand on the prefect so all his weight could be used to push him. Adjusting his hands so he didn't fall face first onto the skylark, Tsuna shoved once again.

"Herbivore, stop _molesting _me!"

Tsuna kept putting his weight on the other boy in hopes he would get dislodged. "I am not molesting you. I'm _trying_ to help." He added, disgruntled.

"Helping doesn't include putting your hands all over my–"

"Just be quiet!" The brunet was irritated that his continuous efforts still hadn't paid off, and he didn't care for whining on top of it. "It's not my fault you have large hips."

"Did you just call me f–" Hibari was once again cut off when he found himself suddenly lurching forwards, finally unstuck.

Tsuna found himself falling forwards as well, landing on top of the other boy. Hibari was surprisingly soft, the brunet noted. It took him a few moments to realise why that was. With a startled sound, Tsuna lurched back, ignoring the fact that he hit his head on the top of the vent in doing so.

"Hibari, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to grab your-" He started, frantically.

"_Not a word about this, h__erbivore_." Hibari hissed venomously.

The brunet wisely decided not to reply as they continued down the vent in silence.


End file.
